Quan: Oakland can keep both A's and Raiders

OAKLAND -- Mayor Jean Quan insisted Wednesday that Oakland could keep both the A's and Raiders even as the teams appear to be in conflict over building new stadiums at the Coliseum complex.

The mayor dismissed concerns that a new long-term lease extension for the A's could be quickly torpedoed by the Raiders' stated desire to knock down their home field next year to make way for a new football stadium in 2018.

In an apparent change of heart, she also urged approval of the A's lease extension, pending a few "clarifications" that could keep the team playing in Oakland through 2024.

"I absolutely want the City Council to sign this agreement so that we can get on to negotiating a new stadium (with the A's)," she during a news conference on the stadium issue.

Quan's statements came a day after this paper reported that the development team working on a new Raiders stadium in Oakland had opposed the A's lease extension because it would have kept them from tearing down O.co Coliseum next year.

The development team, which has poured more than $4 million in public funds on environmental and planning reports, softened its stance in a new letter issued Wednesday. Its attorney Zach Wasserman wrote that his clients could be on board with a provision in the proposed lease that would require the A's receive two-year's notice before the Coliseum could be demolished.

With the Golden State Warriors presumed to be moving to San Francisco, Oakland wants to keep the A's and Raiders, but both the teams and public officials don't appear to be on the same page.

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The Raiders want to work with the development team spearheading Coliseum City, which seeks to transform the Coliseum site into a sports and entertainment center. But the A's Co-owner Lew Wolff, if he wants to build at all in Oakland, has said the team would want to lead the redevelopment of the 120-acre Coliseum site.

Meanwhile, the site is owned jointly by the Oakland and Alameda County, which also have taken diverging paths. Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley said he has had talks with Wolff about a land deal for the A's to do a major development including a new baseball stadium.

But the city has entered into exclusive negotiations with the private development team on Coliseum City.

The development team has come under fire from council members because it has missed deadlines to issue key reports and because its members, which include real estate titan Colony Capital, haven't put money into the project or stated how it plans to cover an estimated $500 million shortfall for a new Raiders stadium.

"I think my colleagues on the council haven't been shown whether this team is real," Councilman Larry Reid said. "We can put them in default for missing their benchmarks, but the mayor is running for re-election and she doesn't want us to do that.

Quan has been the biggest supporter of Coliseum City and continued to back it Tuesday, noting Colony Capital's financial strength.

"This is the third largest real estate company in the world," she said. "It's one of our best chances."